Need a New Year's Resolution?

Marked up

Plenty of families have unique traditions they hold sacred throughout the holiday season. For some, it is eating a special meal on Christmas Day, others sing familiar carols, and many love watching old movies like, “It’s a Wonderful Life” or television programs like, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” Our family participated in all of these at some point in our lives, but I do not know if any of them compared to what we did on Christmas Eve. You see, we were the family who opened up most of our presents before we headed off to the midnight worship service at church. However, we could not untie the bows or rip through the wrapping paper until grandpa had a chance to read from Luke 2. He was not a big man, but he had a powerful presence and every time I think about the text, I hear his voice announcing “Good news of great joy.” Of course, he did not read from his everyday Bible that was tattered from years of study. On this most holy night of the year, grandpa read from the Burgess Family Bible.

I know everything seemed larger when I was little, but I could have sworn it was the size of pirate’s chest. It had a heavy black cover with deep lettering and gold edged pages. It felt big, sacred, and powerful. Looking back, the only problem with that Bible was it was untouched for 364 days out of the year. I do not know if it was ever opened to any book but Luke. I fear a lot of our Bibles are like that, and maybe that is something we all need to change in the new year.

I want to encourage every member of St. Mark to get a Bible they are okay with “marking up” in 2018. You might already have one for daily study, but I want to encourage you not only to read it but also to highlight passages and to jot notes in the margin. We will continue to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation throughout the coming year. One of the hallmarks of this revolution was its emphasis on having the Word accessible to everyone in their own language. I often tell young people that Bibles are like parachutes; they work best when they are open.

I hope you will go through your bookshelves and see if there is a Bible you can “mark up” in the new year. If you cannot find one, just let me know, and we can talk about ordering a new one for study and devotion. I am excited about what God is doing here at the church, and I hope we will all get our Bibles “marked up” together in 2018.

In Hope and Confidence,
Pastor Dave

P.S. If you would like to order a new Bible on your own, I would recommend looking at the C.S. Lewis Study Bible or the Discipleship NRSV Study Bible.